While no one can be sure what ratings Spike TV’s first foray into professional kickboxing will draw, there’s no doubt the event delivered as a live event. The debut show on Spike TV at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois saw a surprise winner in their heavyweight tournament as well as a MMA crossover star reassert himself in his traditional sport.
In the headlining bout, World Series of Fighting light heavyweight and established kickboxer Tyrone Spong got his revenge with a brutal second-round TKO over former foe Nathan Corbett. While Corbett stood his ground early, his undoing would be the physicality and perfectly-timed left hook of the Blackzilian. Corbett was dropped twice in the second frame, both times from counter left hooks and one time in the first. While the Australian was able to answer the eight-count on the second knockdown of the second round, he was unable to follow referee instructions and the bout was waved off. The end came officially at 1:10 of the second frame.
The final bout of the broadcast, however, was the heavyweight tournament final between Daniel Ghita and Rico Verhoeven. Ghita moved to the final spot by stopping Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva at 1:56 of the first round with a clipping right hook that landed on the back of the Brazilian’s head. Verhoeven, however, had a much tougher road to get to the finals. He defeated, albeit controversially, Mike’s Gym standout Gokhan Saki via majority decision with scores of 29-27, 29-28, 28-28. Saki, though, was flagged for a knockdown that a replay appeared to be a slip in the first frame, which ultimately cost him in the judging of the contest.
As for the final, while most observers view Saki and Ghita as the top of the kickboxing heavyweight food chain, it was the underdog Verhoeven who emerged victorious. While all three rounds were close, it was the busier, forward moving Dutch fighter who would end up taking a razor close fight with a unanimous decision of 29-28, 29-28, and 29-28 across all three judges’ scorecards.
In other main card action, Joseph Valtellini stopped Karim Ghajji in a brutal affair at 2:53 of round 3 with a TKO. The heavyweight tournament reserve bout between Errol Zimmerman and Hesdy Gerges ended with a blistering barrage at 38 seconds of the third frame for the ‘Bone Crusher’.
Full main card results for Glory 11 are as follows:
Rico Verhoeven def. Daniel Ghita via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Tyrone Spong def. Nathan Corbett via TKO at 1:10 of round 2
Joseph Valtellini def. Karim Ghajji via TKO at 2:53 of round 3
Errol Zimmerman def. Hesdy Gerges via TKO at :38 of round 3
Daniel Ghita def. Anderson Silva via TKO at 1:56 of round 1
Rico Verhoeven def. Gokhan Saki via majority decision (29-27, 29-28, 28-28)